Mobile carriage for tripod gun mounts



1953 s. e. GREEN ETAL 2,627,209

A" MOBILE CARRIAGE FOR TRIPOD GUN MOUNTS Original Filed Dec. 31, 1943 4 Shqets-Sheet l If h I"! 517M054 6.647657% W/PL 7-5 Mair/r057 WILL/,4 JME/A/EL, I WEBER DEA/ORE,

Feb. 3, 1953 s GREEN T AL I 2,627,209

MOBILE CARRIAGE FOR TRIPOD GUN MOUNTS Original Filed Dec. 31, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 3, 1953 s. e. GREEN ETAL MOBILE CARRIAGE FOR TRIPOD GUN .MOUNTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. 51, 1943 mm; is Man? i if L W E ME awmw Feb. 3, 1953 s. G. GREEN ETAL MOBILE CARRIAGE FOR TRIPOD GUN MOUNTS Original Filed Dec. 51, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mxw gwue/mzow \SIMVEL Gan-sang 0 WRDENNE M W655i? DE VORE,

Patented Feb. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES 2,627,209 PATENT OFFICE MOBILE CARRIAGE FOR TRIPOD GUN MOUNTS Original application December 31, 1943, Serial No. 516,520. Divided and this application May 23, 1946, Serial'No. 671,876 a 4 Claims.

This application is a division of copending application, Serial No. 516,520, filed December 31, 1943, which issued as Patent No. 2,404,958 on July 30, 1946.

The invention relates to a mobile gun support, and more particularly to a mobile support to which a gun mount may be quickly and easily attached or detached.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a support of the type referred to above.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile support for gun mounts of the tripod type in which the legs of the tripod are removable. The invention includes means for attaching removable legs to the mobile support to reduce the size of the mount to a minimum during transportation of the mount on the mobile support.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mobile gun support which may be quickly and cheaply manufactured from readily available materials and which is thereby well adapted to mass production.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a wheeled support made in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the support shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail side elevational view showing the attachment of the gun mount to the support;

Figure 4 is a detail side elevational view of a quick acting clamp utilized to maintain the gun mount in position on the support;

Figure 5 is a detail front elevational view of the clamp shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the gun stand shown in Figures 1-3;

Figure '7 is a cross sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a to plan view of the stand shown in Figures l-3; and

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 2.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a vertical pedestal support or stand I having detachable supporting legs 2 forming a tripod, is adapted to support a gun 3 movable in train and elevation relative to the stand I.

The stand I is comprised of a tubular member IS, the lower end of which is provided with a circular base plate l6. Disposed circumferentially around the lower end of the tubular member l5 and welded to it and to the base plate It PI ings in the leg housing member ll. One end of the shaft 20 is threaded through the clamping jaw 19 and a threaded locking collar 2| and locking pin 22 keep the jaw from disengaging from the shaft. The other end of the shaft 20 ii is provided with a pivoted handle 23 which can be adjusted to permit operation in a limited space to turn the shaft 20. The lower surface of the jaws l8 and i9 are fiat and have sliding arrangement with a transverse flat bar 24 rigid with the leg housing member l'l.

It will be noted that turning of handle 23 in one direction will turn the shaft 20, thus causing the jaws I8 and IE to be drawn together to clamp the leg 2 in the leg housing member. Operation of handle 23 in the other direction will move the jaws apart, thus unclamping the leg 2. Such a clamping means provides a quick, accurate and simple mechanism for clamping and unclamping the legs.

The mobile support for the mount is comprised of a triangular framework preferably of tubular material. The framework includes a tubular axle support 300 for the wheels 302, 304. Secured to the axle support 300 are two forwardly extending tubular members 306, 308 which are joined at their outer ends to each other and to a metal ring 310 adapted for hooking the wheeled support to a truck, jeep or other prime mover. The tubular members 306, 338 are braced by a tubular cros member 312, and a tubular strut 313 connects this cross member 3l2 to the axle support.

Near the forward end of the framework is a downwardly depending U-shaped member 3%, the upper ends of which are joined as at 3l6, 318, respectively, to the tubular members 336, 308. Another tubular member 320 is connected at its lower end to the intermediate portion of the base of the U-shaped member 3l=l and extends forwardly and upwardly with its other end joined as at 322 to the forward ends of the members 338, 388 at the point where they are secured to the ring 3). The U-shaped member 3H; and the tubular member 32%? comprise a support as will be apparent from Figure 1. The tubular members 395, 308, near their forward ends, carry a transverse pipe or rod 324 which enables the wheeled support to be drawn by hand when necessary.

The pedestal support of the gun mount is supported on the wheeled support by means of a circular plate 326 which is welded or otherwise secured to the upper surfaces of the axle support 33!] and the strut 3H3. The circular plate carries two hooked lugs 328a, 333a as shown in Fig. 9 to aid in centering the base plate It of the mount on the circular plate 326.

The base plate iii of the mount is held on the circular plate 326 by means of the quick acting clamps shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5. Each clamp is provided with a foot I I6 flush with the lower surface of circular plate 326. The foot 'llt carries a stud I11 threaded into the plate 326. The upper end of stud II! is adapted to enter a hole I Ila in the base plate it of the mount.

The foot H3 is pivotally secured between a pair of links H8, H8 as at H3. Phe foot H3 is bifurcated at its upper end where it is pivotally connected as at I23 to the arm 12E. The other end of arm I2! is pivoted as at 22 in the bifurcated lower end of handle I23. Handle I23 is disposed between the links H8, H8 to which it is pivotally secured by pin 12- 1 Finally, the links H8, H8 and the handle I23 are provided with holes adapted to align when the device is in clamped position so that a looking pin I25 may be inserted. It will be noted that the arm l2! carries an adjustable bolt I26 the lower end of which engages the upper surface of circular plate I6 of the mount when the device is in clamping position shown in Figure 4. To release the clamp it is only necessary to remove the locking pin I25 and then move the handle I 23 to the right (in Figure l) which will result in raising arm l2! and bolt I23 in an are out of engagement with circular plate HS of the mount.

The clamps are to be positioned on plate [3 at holes Illa which are shown in Fig. 2.

When the mount is secured on the wheeled support two of the legs 2 and 2" of the mount arev removed and means are provided for securing all three of the legs while the mount is being transported.

These means for securing the legs include a V-shaped bracket 328 on the member 328 for receiving the vertical web 333 of the center leg 2 as shown in Figure 1. The center leg at its other end remains in its socket in the pedestal support of the gun mount.

The other two legs 2' and 2 are removed from their sockets (position shown in broken lines in Figure 2) and disposed in their carrying position (shown in full lines). In this position they have been rotated about their longitudinal axes 90. They rest at their outer ends on the center leg 2. The member 323 has another V-shaped bracket 332 which receives the feet 334, 334 of each of the legs 2' and 2". The vertical webs 333' and 330" (now in substantially horizontal position) are disposed beneath the bracket 332 which prevents the outer ends of the legs 2' and 2" from moving upwardly. The other ends of the legs 2 and 2 are releasably held by the spring clips 336, 338, respectively, which are secured on small plates 343 welded to the members 335, 368 and 3l2. Finally, a pair of rectangular supports 3&2 welded to or otherwise secured to the axle support 336 and the members 336, 338, are provided for carrying the ammunition chests 364.

It will be manifest that the arrangement described permits the quick and facile transporta tion of gun mounts and the rapid assembly of such mount upon reaching a location from which the mounts are to be fired. The support is of such stability that the gun can be fired without removing the mount from the support if required.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in structure and arrangement may be made without departing from the inventive concepts which are only to be limited to the extent defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A gun mount having an upright standard with. a base plate and detachable tripod legs socketed adjacent the base plate, a two wheeled carriage support including a triangular frame, a supporting plate carried by said frame, clamping means for detachably securing said base plate to said supporting plate, and means on said frame for securely supporting said legs within the confines of said triangular frame when the device is being wheeled.

2. A mobile carriage for tripod gun mounts having removable legs, said carriage comprising a substantially triangular frame, a pair of wheels carried by one side of said frame, means adjacent the juncture of the other two sides of said. frame for supporting that portion of the frame above the ground when the carriage is at rest, means for detachably mounting a gun mount over said wheel carrying side of the frame approximately midway between said wheels, and, means on said frame and said supporting means for securing the legs of a gun mount within the boundaries of said frame, said last named means comprising a pair of V-shaped brackets mounted on said supporting means for engaging the foot ends of the legs, and clips carried by the frame for holding the other ends of at least two of the legs of the mounts.

3. A mobile carriage for tripod gun mounts having romovable legs, said carriage comprising a substantially triangular frame, a. pair of wheels carried by one side of the frame, means adjacent the juncture of the other two sides of the frame for supporting that portion of the frame above the ground when the carriage is at rest, a plate attached to said wheel carrying side of the frame approximately midway between said wheels for supporting the gun mount, and means carried by said frame and supporting means for securing at least some of said legs, when disassociated from said gun 'mount, within the boundaries of the frame, said last named means including means wlthin said supporting means for engaging the foot ends of said legs, and means carried by the frame for holding the other ends of at least two of the legs of the mount.

4. A mobile carriage for tripod gun mounts having removable legs, said carriage comprising a substantially triangular frame, a-pair of wheels carried by one side of said frame, means. for detachably mounting a gun mount over said wheel carrying side of the frame approximately midway between the wheels and means of said frame for securing at least some of said legs when disassociated from said gun mount, within the boundaries of said frame.

SAMUEL G. GREEN. WALTER H. DARDENNE. WILLIAM J. MEINEL. WEBER DEVORE.

(References on following page) Number REFERENCES CITED 2 3 2,707 The following references are of record in the 2,363,966 file of this patent: 2,397,747 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2'421'794 Number Name Date 160,960 Rydbeck Mar. 16, 1875 Number 1,295,344 Masury Feb. 25, 1919 313,470 1,315,718 Gomes et a1 Sept. 9, 1919 10 ,5 1,861,831 Barnes June 7, 1932 847,832 1,995,981 Herlach et a1 Mar. 26, 1935 Name Date Malmquist Nov. 14, 1944 Brandt Feb. 6, 1945 Lindsey et a1. Apr. 2, 1946 Maeser June 10, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 1'7, 1930 Germany Jan. 2, 1933 Franoe Oct. 1'7, 1939 

